My strategy is a FAIL. I have summer tires and figured that with snow every other year and only for a few days, no big deal, just park it and drive the wife's SUV. However, this weather looks like it's going to hang on for awhile and my neighborhood is still covered with snow and more expected Wednesday and Thursday. However, I'm not sure UHPAS tires are enough to get out of my neighborhood at the momement either.

Can you even put chains on a MINI?

What size rim has the best choice of good winter tires for the MINI?

Anyone getting around just fine on packed snow? If so, what tires?

Thanks.

-AndyW

 

Stock all season runflats seem to be fine so far. We get a far amount of snow and the plows clean up the streets in a few days when there is more than 3+ inches. The front end turns into a plow before I'll have traction issues.

 

I got a set of winters in Germany (no all-seasons over there). The set I bought are Pirelli 240 SnowSports. They come in 17's. With DTC it is bliss regardless of the weather. They hold up extremely well (I even did a track day with them in July!), so you can put them on as soon as the temp gets under 65-ish and not worry. Others have had success with Blizzaks, etc.--whatever is winter specific. One trick is to get rims just for the winters so you don't have to remount tires twice per year.

dan

 

Chains require smaller tires. Your owner's manual lists the maximum size that will allow chains.

My all seasons are working thus far. The only place where it's really a problem is starting out on snow/ice pack--even babying the clutch will often slide you in the direction of the road slope. But I think that's unavoidable.

 

One option is to have your tires siped at Les Schwab. It costs about $12 or so per tire and increases traction in a variety of conditions. I've had all my tires siped over the years for a little extra edge in the wet and snow.

For really outstanding snow performance, check out Nokian tires. We have the Nokian Hakkapeliitta RSi on our BMW X3 and they are amaing in this weather. I ordered them last year from Bavarian Auto mounted (Les Schwab carries some versions, but didn't have the studless high performance tire I wanted). They drive as though the roads were dry. I'm very impressed with Xdrive and these tires.

 

We got about 6" of fresh powder this morning and I managed pretty well on my 17" Kumho Ecxsta ASX all seasons. They're not like regular snow tires, but considering how little snow we usually get in winter anymore, I think they're a good tradeoff, and they're really good in rain and dry.......

 

I'm in the same boat as you. So far I've been driving my wife's CX-7 and working from home. I'm starting to think I should have just bit the bullet with some snow tires, but last time I went to Schwab they weren't selling snow tires anymore, only chains cause they are so busy.

I have a spare set of s-lites, but after I put on Wilwoods they wont fit anymore. I should have just put an order in at TireRack last Monday but I chickened out.

 

Update:

I used my wife's SUV to take my old 16" wheels down to America's tire and had them put on Goodyear Eagle F1 A/S (All Season) tires in size 205/55x16. I got them home and put them on and drove up our hill (I live in the West Hills of Portland) with a little help from traction control, but had no real issues. This morning I tried again and didn't get 10 feet as there was ice under the snow. I got my wife's SUV out with the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred tires (all-season tires with the snowflake on the sidewall) and didn't even slip a tiny bit. I'm not sure the 4wd even kicked in as it's a front driver until something slips.

Given these tests:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...ay.jsp?ttid=80
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/...y.jsp?ttid=102

I'm not convinced the performance winter tires would do that much better though (but this conflicts with my SUV test). My second choice would have been either the Dunlop Wintersport 3D (they make them in the 195/55x16 size, run-flat and all) or the Goodyear GW3 based on Consumer reports. Again though, I'm not 100% sure they are better enough for the hills when they get icy.

Which leaves the last option, real snow/ice tires - this is something I'll still not convinced I can justify in Portland, especially since I can use my wife's SUV on the worst days.

-AndyW

 

I live in the Cedar Hills area and have taken out the Clubman on 16" all-seasons pretty much every day for test runs around the neighborhood. I have Autosocks and have been pretty impressed with the MINI, both with and without them. Today on Parkway hill in Cedar Hills I had to drive around a chained-up Tri-Met bus that had slid backward and off the road at the top of the hill

I would love real snow tires but as mentioned - so rare to need them and I don't have the storage space in my single-car garage to keep a spare set of wheels/tires.

Bottom line though - while I've driven to Costco and grocery store and whatnot, for work I use the bus and Tri-Met because I don't want to risk being t-boned or backslid into by some nitwit. I know it's cliche that everyone who drives slower than me is an idiot and everyone who drives faster is insane - but I do notice a fair number of folks who don't seem to have mastered some of the basics of ice/snow driving

 

One final update:

I now know that Ultra-High Performance All-Seasons are probably the type of tire I should have had all along.

With my summer Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3 tires, at any temperature under 50 degrees, wet or dry, I can spin the tires out of control in first or second gear.

With the Goodyear Eagle F1 All-Season's, first gear activates the traction control, but just barely (41 degrees outside today), wet or dry. Second gear always hooks up completely.

Since it is cold and rainy for almost six months of the year and the all-seasons give up almost nothing in the summer, they are a far better tire for this climate.